Unholy Magic
Unholy Magic
Unholy Magic
******
Stacia Kane
Stacia - your book seriously kicks ass.
I enjoyed Unholy Ghosts so much that I actually started to worry that I wouldn't like the second one as much (sometimes that happens). No need to worry.
Chess Putnam is still our lovable little mess. She hasn't made any miraculous recoveries from her addiction - in fact it seems like it's getting a bit worse. Her relationships are suffering a bit - the tightrope she's been walking is fraying.
I think what I really like about this book is that Chess really has this need for her medication, she makes some twisted decisions, you can tell she knows in the back of her mind that she's not making the best decisions, and in fact is having some consequences but she still keeps plugging away at her life. Some things are working for her and some things aren't.
In this sequel to Unholy Ghosts, Chess has been getting more work, a bit more variety from the Church. She feels a bit more under scrutinay (never a good thing when you're trying to fly under the radar, so you can continue self-medicating). Chess is given a complicated case of a haunting with a TV star's family. At the same time, hookers are being murdered from both of Chess' s dealer's turfs. Someone is creeping Chess out also, spying on her. She's barely holding things together....and then
BAM!!!!
THE SH-- HITS THE FAN
Somehow, Chess manages to keep going, even though her heart is broken....
I can't wait for the sequel (next week!- or yesterday, the website says 7/27 That's it, I'm going to the store!).
For me, everything works in this story - the addictions, the messes Chess gets in, the uncomfortable situations, the suspense, the tension, the dialogue - even the sad parts. And as with Unholy Ghosts, I found it refreshingly twisted - Chess is definitely going through some crap, she's not going to get a happy ending with a miraculous drug addiction recovery. Chess has some issues and continues to work, continues to do the best she can in her situation making no excuses for herself. In fact, that's what I like about the Stacia Kane is presenting Chess - she's not coming across as being judgemental in her portrayal, or glorifying the addictions. It's an objectively told story - showing the nasty and uncomfortable bits as well as the bits that Chess enjoys.
Reading Challenges
2010 Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge
POC reading challenge (main squeeze is Asian)
Unholy Magic
******
Stacia Kane
Stacia - your book seriously kicks ass.
I enjoyed Unholy Ghosts so much that I actually started to worry that I wouldn't like the second one as much (sometimes that happens). No need to worry.
Chess Putnam is still our lovable little mess. She hasn't made any miraculous recoveries from her addiction - in fact it seems like it's getting a bit worse. Her relationships are suffering a bit - the tightrope she's been walking is fraying.
I think what I really like about this book is that Chess really has this need for her medication, she makes some twisted decisions, you can tell she knows in the back of her mind that she's not making the best decisions, and in fact is having some consequences but she still keeps plugging away at her life. Some things are working for her and some things aren't.
In this sequel to Unholy Ghosts, Chess has been getting more work, a bit more variety from the Church. She feels a bit more under scrutinay (never a good thing when you're trying to fly under the radar, so you can continue self-medicating). Chess is given a complicated case of a haunting with a TV star's family. At the same time, hookers are being murdered from both of Chess' s dealer's turfs. Someone is creeping Chess out also, spying on her. She's barely holding things together....and then
BAM!!!!
THE SH-- HITS THE FAN
Somehow, Chess manages to keep going, even though her heart is broken....
I can't wait for the sequel (next week!- or yesterday, the website says 7/27 That's it, I'm going to the store!).
For me, everything works in this story - the addictions, the messes Chess gets in, the uncomfortable situations, the suspense, the tension, the dialogue - even the sad parts. And as with Unholy Ghosts, I found it refreshingly twisted - Chess is definitely going through some crap, she's not going to get a happy ending with a miraculous drug addiction recovery. Chess has some issues and continues to work, continues to do the best she can in her situation making no excuses for herself. In fact, that's what I like about the Stacia Kane is presenting Chess - she's not coming across as being judgemental in her portrayal, or glorifying the addictions. It's an objectively told story - showing the nasty and uncomfortable bits as well as the bits that Chess enjoys.
Reading Challenges
2010 Speculative Fiction Reading Challenge
POC reading challenge (main squeeze is Asian)